Royal Oak MI Real Estate

I admit the title is a bit of a tease, because the Detroit News does have a great LOCAL real estate section, so most LOCAL articles are spot on. But if my clients in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Beverly Hills, Royal Oak and surrounding cities believed today’s upsetting Detroit News headline, Detroit home sale prices lag [...]

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Download December 2010 Oakland County Real Estate market statistics. Written by Maureen FrancisSKBK Sotheby’s International Realty, 248.430.4450 Visit WebsiteSearch for homes in Oakland County

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After financing homes for over 20 years I am still surprised when one of my borrowers says they want to buy a home using the Listing agent of the property. I ask them why, and the answer is always the same; “We’re going to be able to buy the house for less because the seller [...]

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If you are still on the fence about the value of professionally staging a home for sale, here is another benefit to consider:  staged properties command higher appraisals. Certified Residential Appraiser Linda Shurtliff, owner of Troy-based Reliable Residential Appraisals, LLC agrees.  “A staged home has much more appeal than an unstaged home.  A staged home [...]

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Most Home Stagers agree, however, that Staging encompasses all 12 of these improvement projects, as a good Stager will advise if, and to what extent, these improvements should be undertaken to increase the marketability of the property. The article can be viewed here: http://blog.homegain.com/home-improvement/homegain-2009-top-12-home-improvements-survey-results/ I have already had an agent ask if $300 for Home [...]

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From my staging colleague Cindy Bryant, owner of Redesign, Etc. in Houston, TX: Helping home sellers achieve their goal. Offers will come faster. Marketing strategy. Effective selling technique. Selling a home for all it’s worth. Taking a tried and true approach. Always looking better than the competition. Get better appraisal values. Internet photos will show a must see [...]

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After owning a Home Staging business for over 5 years, I think I have heard every possible objection to hiring a Stager, from “I know what needs to be done” to “I don’t want someone touching my stuff”.  The biggest objection by far, however, is the cost.  In this economy, people just don’t have a [...]

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When potential buyers view a house for sale, they need to see rooms presented as they were intended.  The master bedroom shouldn’t be an exercise room, the bathroom shouldn’t be a pet station, the garage shouldn’t be a storage unit, and unless you have more than 3 bedrooms, resist the urge to make one an [...]

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A link to a “virtual home staging” site was sent to me recently, and naturally, I had to investigate.  Ahhh … the wonders of Photoshop.  The owners of this site will take uploaded photos of your vacant rooms and plug in furniture to make it appear furnished.  The “after” photos actually look pretty good, although [...]

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When we started selling homes in 2001, short sales were unheard of in Metro Detroit.  Foreclosures were rare in Oakland County.  But times have changed and this year we have had an enormous uptick in our short sale business. Short sales are taking place in every price range.  In the last 30 days we’ve helped [...]

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As I head to Florida for a much-needed vacation and annual Spring Training game (Go Tigers!!!), I leave you with an excellent Q & A reblogged with permission from my staging colleague Cindy Bryant of Redesign Etc, Inc. in Houston, TX.  Her post on Active Rain is spot-on and truly reflects the most common questions [...]

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